Golden Lion Tamarin

The golden lion tamarin weighs twice the average for the marmoset and tamarind group. The face is dark grey and the hands, fingers and claws are long and narrow to probe into bark and crevices for grubs. However some 4th – fifths of the diet is fruit, supplemented by gum and nectar. It forages by day and rests at night in tangled vegetation or, more often, a hole in a tree. There is only 1 male – female breeding pair in the troop of four to eleven. In its “helper” system of rearing young – two offspring being typical for the group – sexual activity of the helpers is not suppressed, although they do not produce young until they make the dominant partnership. Its weight is usually 400 to 800 kilos ( 14 to 9 oz ), its tail is measured up to 32 to 37cm ( 12½ to 14½ inches ), its length is about 20 to 25cm long ( 8 to 10 inches . )